Even though I love working out & I fully realize its value. It was not easy to maintain a daily work out. After several trials and errors during the years, I prevailed. So how I managed to make working out equal to brushing my teeth. Here are my tips:
Mental Attitude
I developed a mental attitude that working out is not a pleasure it is a necessity for my well being; not less important than eating healthy food, sleeping, brushing my teeth.
Another mental trick; it is a pleasure to have physical pain and my muscles sourness reflects my progress.
Working out Objectives
I set different objectives each season/month; it helps me to accommodate work, social, and personal commitments. Examples; If I have to be early at work this means for that week I workout 45 minutes. Less is better than nothing. In summer, I concentrate on swimming & aqua aerobics; while winter is for weights lifting & yoga.
Set Regular Time
I workout on a regular time every day; my preference is in the mornings. Simply because I clear my mind, restore my energy, get my time alone, and I don't worry if I will be stuck at work or with any social commitment. I tried exercising after working hours but at that time I am hungry or tired. Besides, I get energized to do nothing (watching TV) and worse I end up eating most of my evening.
Working out Is An Appointment
I am busy and have a lot of commitments; but I plan my weekly working out as any other appointment that I have to keep, and it is jotted down on my calendar.
Logging
I log what I exercised; aka minutes of meetings :-) It helps me to know how I am progressing & percentage of how much of my objects are met.
Enough Sleep & Food
I make sure I sleep enough hours and eat healthy food. How would I mange to get out of bed if I just had a couple of sleeping hours. I am not into hurting or knocking myself down.
No Working out
I hate obligations & guilt feelings; I am not into making working out a burden. So I made sure to know when I am not exercising.
My "No Working out" List is:
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
Mental Attitude
I developed a mental attitude that working out is not a pleasure it is a necessity for my well being; not less important than eating healthy food, sleeping, brushing my teeth.
Another mental trick; it is a pleasure to have physical pain and my muscles sourness reflects my progress.
Working out Objectives
I set different objectives each season/month; it helps me to accommodate work, social, and personal commitments. Examples; If I have to be early at work this means for that week I workout 45 minutes. Less is better than nothing. In summer, I concentrate on swimming & aqua aerobics; while winter is for weights lifting & yoga.
Set Regular Time
I workout on a regular time every day; my preference is in the mornings. Simply because I clear my mind, restore my energy, get my time alone, and I don't worry if I will be stuck at work or with any social commitment. I tried exercising after working hours but at that time I am hungry or tired. Besides, I get energized to do nothing (watching TV) and worse I end up eating most of my evening.
Working out Is An Appointment
I am busy and have a lot of commitments; but I plan my weekly working out as any other appointment that I have to keep, and it is jotted down on my calendar.
Logging
I log what I exercised; aka minutes of meetings :-) It helps me to know how I am progressing & percentage of how much of my objects are met.
Enough Sleep & Food
I make sure I sleep enough hours and eat healthy food. How would I mange to get out of bed if I just had a couple of sleeping hours. I am not into hurting or knocking myself down.
No Working out
I hate obligations & guilt feelings; I am not into making working out a burden. So I made sure to know when I am not exercising.
My "No Working out" List is:
- One of the weekend days I rest
- No workout when I am injured
- I exercise lightly when I have flu
- On business trips, I can skip if there is no time or space to work out
- On vacations; I skip if my mood is set on Lazziness
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
